Movie lights and cameras are capturing the main street charm of Prescott, Arizona for the first time in years. And a new state film office is aiming to increase film production in Arizona, but it could be a hard sell because of the tax credits and incentives other states are offering production companies.

On the day of the general election in 2016, Maricopa County voters experienced problems at the polls. Some of those problems, according to elections officials, were the result of the "epoll books" used in the place of paper voter rolls.

As California utilities increase their solar power generating capacity, they are increasingly discovering they have too much electricity in their grids. The result is a boon for utilities like Arizona Public Service, which is taking the excess power and getting paid to do it.

Despite his presidential pardon from criminal contempt of court, former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is still on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawyer bills, according to the man who is heading up the effort to collect donations.

More than three dozen residents who live near the Hickman’s Family Farms chicken facility in Tonopah allege that the operation amounts to a legal nuisance, which impacts their quality of life. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Friday, August 25, 2017 9:01 AM EDT

More than three dozen residents who live near the Hickman’s Family Farms chicken facility in Tonopah allege that the operation amounts to a legal nuisance, which impacts their quality of life.

During is speech in Phoenix on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump threatened to shut down the government in order to get a wall built between the U.S. and Mexico. But that plan may run into a wall of opposition in Congress.

Brick-and-mortar businesses want a level playing field when competing against online businesses. (Source: CBS 5)

Updated:
Friday, August 18, 2017 6:16 PM EDT

Local retailers say their online competitors have a competitive advantage because there is no city or state sales tax for many online purchases. "Online retailers need to be paying the same sales tax that brick and mortar does because schools matter," said Cindy Dach.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office will not pursue criminal charges against a man who took a 12-year old Valley boy on a deadly hike last year, during 110-degree heat. That is according to the boy's father and stepmother, who say they met with prosecutors this morning.

Once every year, data security professionals and hackers alike turn Las Vegas into a whirlwind of ideas, tips, best practices and some mischief. Two unique conferences are taking place in "Sin City" this week.

Border Patrol agents are looking for those who have a passport that may not belong to them. (Source: CBS 5)

Updated:
Friday, June 30, 2017 3:30 PM EDT

Officers with US Customs and Border Protection say they are catching non-citizens trying to use real passports that don't belong to them. They say the trend is caused, in part, by a switch to modern travel documents that are made of hi-tech materials.

A woman claiming to be William Huff's sister emailed and said her brother is not a monster. (Source: CBS 5)

Updated:
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 9:06 AM EDT

William Huff served nearly 50 years in prison for murdering two young girls. He is out of prison, to the protests of his victims' families, but his own family describes him as a "humble, kind, peaceful man without any hatred or thoughts of hurting anyone."

According to the EPA, cyanide traps are sprung 30,000 times per year. The traps kill thousands of coyotes and other non-targeted wildlife, dozens of dogs and even injured a 14-year-old boy in Idaho in March. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Friday, June 16, 2017 2:37 AM EDT

The USDA offered new guidelines for using cyanide traps in the wild, in response to growing criticism from environmentalists and the public.

The price for large air tankers can run as high as $13,299 per hour. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Thursday, June 8, 2017 8:21 PM EDT

A growing number of studies and critics are casting doubt on the effectiveness of air tankers in fighting wildfires. The criticism is not that the aircraft are ineffective when used in the right circumstances. The problem is they are called upon too often and in too many situations.

Student-athletes were promised dorms with mattresses but ended up sleeping on the floor. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Thursday, May 25, 2017 8:26 PM EDT

It was the first week of school last September and the players and coaches at Phoenix's Hillcrest Prep should have been focusing on a potential championship season. But instead of practicing, focusing and studying, the Hillcrest program was dealing with a catastrophe.

It was an ordinary Sunday night in a north Phoenix restaurant until the gunman burst through the front door. "I remember thinking 'this isn't happening, this isn't real,'" said Angelic, whose last name we agreed to withhold so she would tell us the story of what she saw and what she did that night.

How hard would it be to track down a complete stranger with little more information than name or a photo? It's easier than many people think. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Friday, May 12, 2017 10:32 AM EDT

If you ask people in downtown Phoenix, they will likely tell you that there is a ton of information about them available online. What they are not likely to know is how to reduce the amount of information available.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill into law that creates new standards for used tire sales. Auto safety advocates have complained for years that too many old, worn out, even recalled tires are sold on the secondary market, putting motorists at risk.

Convicted killer William Huff was spotted riding his bicycle through a Tucson neighborhood. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Tuesday, May 2, 2017 5:28 PM EDT

William Huff terrorized Sierra Vista during the spring and summer of 1967. Despite a sentence of 40 years to life, the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency voted to release him from prison into home arrest. Family members of the victims are concerned for the safety of the community, as are new members of the Clemency Board. CBS 5 Investigates videotaped Huff riding a bike through his Tucson neighborhood. There are no restrictions placed on his proximity to children.

There is a large demand for seats at BASIS desks. There is currently a 7,000-student waiting list for this fall. (Source: CBS 5 News)

Updated:
Thursday, April 27, 2017 5:58 PM EDT

Critics argue the small graduating classes give BASIS the appearance of a school system that succeeds in creating top scholars out of nearly all of its students. They say the lower-performing students transfer out of the system before senior year.More>>

It's been 10 days since Russian hackers hijacked a Valley woman's Instagram account, which she set up for her daughter to post dancing pictures. And she still cannot regain access to the account, or get Instagram to shut it down.

Inside a north Phoenix gymnasium last month, some of the top high school basketball players in the country gathered for the "Grind Session World Championship Tournament." But the high schools these students play for are likely to be a far cry from the high school you attended. These are "prep schools," basketball prep schools to be precise.

One of President Donald Trump's signature goals is to increase law enforcement presence along the U.S. border with Mexico. It's less controversial and certainly less publicized than the idea of building a border wall. But if history serves as a guide, this goal may be tough to achieve as well.

Privacy advocates worry that Snap Spectacles could be used, purposely or inadvertently, to record people in compromising positions without consent or knowledge. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Friday, March 17, 2017 12:50 AM EDT

The company behind wildly popular Snapchat is hoping that new Snap Spectacles will catch on with the teenagers who prefer Snapchat over other social media platforms. But privacy advocates worry that the glasses could be used, purposely or inadvertently, to record people in compromising positions without consent or knowledge.

A full-grown male jaguar named "El Jefe," and at least one other cat like it, may provide opponents of President Trump's border wall with a unique legal challenge. That is that cutting off these cats from their larger population in Mexico would doom them to re-extinction in the United States.

The Arizona Auditor General's Office has been putting this audit report together for 16 years. But this year's report is drawing fire, not because of what it contains, but because of what school officials, teachers and education advocates say it leaves out.

During the first four months of this fiscal year, 264 people who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Arizona, ended up being cleared after an immigration judge found "no grounds for removal."

Israel Torres spoke out for gun rights in online videos and social media but now he's in federal custody because he allegedly had guns when he wasn't allowed to. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

Updated:
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 3:18 PM EST

Israel Torres made a name for himself in the so-called "three percenters" circles by attending rallies and posting pictures and videos on social media. Oftentimes Torres was armed. But according to the FBI, this gun-rights and anti-government advocate had a secret. Legally, he wasn't allowed to posses a firearm.

Page Giacin became suspicious of the man who was taking care of her terminally ill father last summer. The caretaker was a cowboy the family had known for years, a cowboy Giacin's father, Don Steinman, did not always agree with. But because Giacin and her brother lived far away from their father's Arizona ranch, they understood why Steinman had chosen the cowboy.

Crime reports filed during the first month of 2017 show big box stores accounting for dozens of crime calls to Valley police agencies. But five Wal-Mart stores appear to stand out, as far as the number of calls.

Two decades before President Donald Trump chose him to serve as the White House chief political strategist, Steve Bannon was toiling away in the desert north of Tucson, working on climate science in a $200 million greenhouse.

A valley woman claims a fortune teller hypnotized her and talked her into leaving $1400. The psychic denied the allegations when confronted by CBS 5 Investigates. But the situation is an example of how difficult it can be for law enforcement officials to investigate accusations of fortune teller fraud.

Despite Sheriff Joe Arpaio's assertion that no taxpayer money was used to fund the investigation into President Barack Obama's birth certificate, emails and other records released during the sheriff's contempt of court hearings indicate MCSO may have paid tens of thousands of dollars for the much-criticized investigation.

While this illegal BHO lab did not explode, with the amount of butane found, it easily could have. (Source: KPHO/KTVK)

Updated:
Thursday, October 20, 2016 11:00 PM EDT

Marijuana manufacturers are setting up shop in homes across the Valley, but what they're using to get the job done could be putting entire neighborhoods at risk because when the slightest thing goes wrong, the result is literally explosive.

A single paragraph 13 pages into the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, also known as Arizona's Prop 205, may create an insurmountable obstacle to prosecutors who are trying to convict people of driving under the influence of marijuana.

Emails released in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's contempt of court proceedings show the sheriff paid a confidential informant at least $120,000 for computer data that was supposed to show an illegal conspiracy between the U.S. Department of Justice and federal judges, including the judge who had ruled against the sheriff in a racial profiling case.

The dust storm that blew into the Valley of the Sun on July 5, 2011 was a monster. It covered 100 square miles of surface, extended 8,000 feet into the sky, and approached Phoenix at a speed of 40 miles per hour. "I've never seen anything so incredible as that," said Ken Waters, who is warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Phoenix office.

Three of the major professional franchises in the Valley want or demand new venues even though their current homes aren't paid off. (Source: CBS 5 News)

Updated:
Thursday, September 22, 2016 1:49 AM EDT

The Arizona Coyotes have made it clear for years that they want out of Glendale. The team looked into moving to Las Vegas, but now appears to be eying downtown Phoenix. If the move happens, the Coyotes would be leaving behind a state of the art venue, now called Gila River Arena. And they would be leaving Glendale taxpayers with a bill for $145 million, which is the amount the city still owes on the arena.

"As soon as we put them in their new pool, the animals popped up and ate fish and they've been doing very well ever since," said Dr. Grey Stafford, who is the facility's general manager. (Source: CSB 5 News)

Updated:
Friday, September 9, 2016 12:10 AM EDT

Animal rights activists are raising questions about the location of a new dolphin aquarium, which is set to open in mid-October. The facility is adjacent to Scottsdale but within the borders of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which means it is not subject to local and county ordinances or state animal welfare laws.

It is a state board that sets the rates for power, water and other utilities, but most residents have little idea who the Arizona Corporation Commission members are, much less who is running for the three seats up for election this fall.

It's been four years since Sheriff Joe Arpaio held his last news conference detailing his accusations that President Barack Obama released a fake birth certificate to the public, but that doesn't mean the investigation is over.

The FBI is warning ordinary citizens across the country, that they have popped up on ISIS "hit lists" that are circulating on the Internet. Some of the people on those lists are Valley residents, according to law enforcement officers who spoke to CBS 5 Investigates.

The spot where firefighters found Cody earlier this summer. (Source: CBS 5 News)

Updated:
Friday, August 5, 2016 8:26 AM EDT

Brian Flom's 12-year old son, Cody, died after a hike in the sweltering desert heat. As he searches for clues to his own son's death, he's calling on lawmakers to protect other children from suffering the same fate as Cody.

It is common for parents of public high school students to pay as much as $300 in fees and costs associated with their children's education, according to district fee schedules and parents who spoke to CBS 5 Investigates.

The perfectly symmetrical lines of planes stretch out for at least a half mile in all directions. Welcome to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, also known as the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Some of the planes here -- hundreds of the legendary F-16 Fighting Falcons -- have been assigned to a new mission.

Brian Flom talked to Morgan Loew about the lost of his son and the questions he wants answered. (Source: KPHO)

Updated:
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 2:32 AM EDT

Brian Flom is torn between grief and anger. His 12-year-old son, Cody, died on Friday night, after going on a hike in 110-degree weather. And the circumstances surrounding Cody's death leave Brian with lots of questions.

It took 17 years to fill Lake Powell after the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. But Powell's water level has been steadily dropping for the past 16 years due to an extended drought and overuse of the Colorado River. Lake Mead is just 37 percent full. The fact that neither lake is full today, or likely to get filled anytime soon, is giving an old idea new life.

Arizona Public Service has tripled the number of employees dedicated to reviewing solar applications. Until this spring, customers with new solar panels were waiting months for approval to turn their systems on.

If talk of a serial killer on the loose on the streets of Phoenix sounds like déjà vu, it is not your imagination. Investigative reporter Morgan Loew revisits the "Year of Terror." It was 10 years ago now that the Valley was in a state of perpetual fear as what turned out to the be three serial killers roamed the streets at night.

The images of thick, brown dust all but blocking Interstate 10 captured the attention of motorists, state regulators and the media. ADOT had to shut down one of the busiest east-west freeways in the country, and all the dust problems may continue if certain things aren't addressed.

By the end of January of this year, the campaign to re-elect Sheriff Joe Arpaio had raised $8 million, which is an enormous take for an elected official at the county level. But campaign finance disclosure statements show that haul came at an enormous cost.

The Department of Defense, the FBI and U.S. attorneys in at least six states are investigating allegations that some compounding pharmacies are committing fraud, selling expensive "pain creams" and other drugs not approved by the FDA to military veterans.

Two shootouts in the desert south of Phoenix may indicate the Sinaloa Drug Cartel is ordering its smugglers to ramp up violence in an effort to protect drug shipments, according to multiple law enforcement sources who spoke to CBS 5 Investigates.

The wash beneath the Lead Queen Mine in southern Arizona remains stained from acid mine drainage. This wash leads to the watershed for the town of Patagonia. (Source: CBS 5 Investigates)

Updated:
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 6:52 PM EDT

The state of Arizona is home to an estimated 100,000 abandoned mines, but no state or federal agency has an accurate count of how many of them are leaking toxic heavy metals into the environment and waterways.

The parking spaces surrounding the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office two year old headquarters are covered in bags, which means nobody is supposed to park there. But up until a month ago, the spaces next to the bagged meters at MCSO were filled with unmarked sheriff's office vehicles.

A CBS 5 analysis found polls in last week's Presidential Preference Elections were located in wealthier and whiter neighborhoods (Source: KPHO)

Updated:
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 1:25 AM EDT

A CBS 5 News analysis of US Census data shows that polling places for last week's Presidential Preference Election tended to be located in wealthier, whiter zip codes, when compared to Maricopa County as a whole.

A day after thousands of Maricopa County voters stood in line for hours, the county official in charge of the elections department denied that cost-cutting was to blame. But in February, when the county board of supervisors approved the plan to reduce the number of polling places, money appeared to be the top concern.

Valley water departments boast about delivering safe and clean water that rarely, if ever, violates EPA safe drinking water standard. But critics argue that those federal standards are not strict enough. And water quality reports show tap water here in the Valley does, in fact, contain contaminants.

The state mine inspector estimates there are roughly 100,000 abandoned mines in Arizona. But environmental officials have no way of knowing how many of those mines are leaching toxic residues, metals or compounds into the environment.

As the new head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Col. Frank Milstead had a novel idea. When it comes to combating the drug smuggling gangs that use the southern Arizona desert as a superhighway, why not just jam their radio and wireless communications so they can't coordinate smuggling efforts?

The US Attorney's office, FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the US Customs and Immigration Service are investigating possible abuses by officials from PhoenixMart, for its involvement in a program that trades foreign investment for US "Green Cards."

From the Pinal County Sheriff's Office helicopter, the men running down the mountain look like small stick figures. But without the aid of the chopper and its cameras, there is little hope the deputies and Border Patrol agents on the slope would be able to catch these drug cartel scouts.

The mountain peak provides 360-degree views of the desert below. It is this vantage point that is coveted by Mexican drug cartel scouts, stationed up here for weeks at a time, and tasked with one job: guiding drug shipments north from the border.

Private sales of handguns and rifles are allowed under federal and state law without background checks, so long as the seller is not in the business of selling guns. But according to legal experts, defining what "in the business of selling guns" means is up for debate.

Long before a figurehead for the anti-Islam movement made his initial appearance in a US District Court courtroom on conspiracy charges related to a weekslong standoff in Oregon, his home state of Arizona was already well-known to anti-government and anti-immigrant extremists.

A CBS 5 News Facebook poll shows respondents overwhelmingly believe education should be lawmakers' first priority during the 2016 legislative session. But an analysis of bills already introduced at the state capitol shows more bills dealing with election reform than any other subject.

Roughly 400 certified teachers are waiting for complaints against them to be fully investigated, as the Arizona Board of Education’s investigators work through a backlog that has persisted for years. Making matters worse is the public fight between the Board of Education and the state superintendent of public instruction.

Stem cell clinics are opening in cities across the country, offering to treat a wide range of ailments and diseases, from bad knees to baldness, Alzheimer’s to Multiple Sclerosis. But some researchers and physicians worry that the clinics may give false hope to desperate patients.More>>

Although agents confiscate the drug at their checkpoint near Amado, AZ, they appear to be ignoring the marijuana fields near the checkpoint. CBS 5 Investigates videotaped Border Patrol vehicles driving by the pot fields several times per day.More>>

The key to identifying whether the freeway shooter is shooting from a car or standing on a bridge or overpass is the trajectory of the bullets, according to one former police sergeant who spoke to CBS 5 Investigates.More>>

When sixth-graders returned to school in the Casa Grande Elementary district this fall, they were assigned social studies textbooks that contain no mention of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, or the election of Barack Obama, the first African-American president in United States history.More>>

Three members of a border militia group are behind bars, charged with conspiracy to sell cocaine. They were caught in an FBI sting operation, involving an undercover agent, a plot to steal drugs and money from cartel smugglers, an offer of murder for hire and a high speed chase through the streets of Phoenix.More>>

Residents of a downtown Phoenix neighborhood tell CBS 5 Investigates they are concerned about the possibility of a new air carrier moving to Sky Harbor. The concern focuses on the age of the planes and how noisy they are.More>>

Residents of a north Phoenix neighborhood are speaking out against a proposed apartment building they say will ruin their views, hurt their property values and violate city's general plan for their part of the Valley.More>>

At least five states have enacted limits on the amount of money insurance can charge for prescription drug co-pays. But in Arizona, the effort appears to have stalled, as the insurance and pharmaceutical industries argue over who should pick up the associated costsMore>>

At the end of April, Corinthian Colleges, Inc. closed its 28 ground campuses, including its Everest College campuses in Phoenix. Among those attending the for-profit school were military veterans using the GI Bill.More>>

To the tens of thousands of young people who sell the product, Vemma is not just an energy drink, it's a revolution, a path for young people to make lots of money, drive expensive cars and do it all under a business model that does not involve college or traditional employment.More>>

The tightening job market is leading more businesses to require their employees to sign non-compete contracts, which restrict their ability to work for a competing company or start out on their own.More>>

A debate is raging across the city of Phoenix, pitting residents of established neighborhoods against developers and city planning officials. At stake is the future of infill development within city limits.

The state of Arizona is home to an estimated 100,000 abandoned mines, but no state or federal agency has an accurate count of how many of them are leaking toxic heavy metals into the environment and waterways.CBS 5 Investigates collected soil and water samples from the areas around six old uranium, lead, silver and copper mines. The tests showed levels of heavy metals that were under the EPA standards for toxicity, but alarming to the scientists who conducted the testing.Click here for...More >>

The state of Arizona is home to an estimated 100,000 abandoned mines, but no state or federal agency has an accurate count of how many of them are leaking toxic heavy metals into the environment and waterways.CBS 5 Investigates collected soil and water samples from the areas around six old uranium, lead, silver and copper mines. The tests showed levels of heavy metals that were under the EPA standards for toxicity, but alarming to the scientists who conducted the testing.Click here for...More >>

SLIDESHOW

Arizona is seeing a big resurgence in militia activity. CBS 5 investigators decided to join a couple of these groups, using hidden cameras to document how their members act when they don't know the media are watching.More >>

Arizona is seeing a big resurgence in militia activity. CBS 5 investigators decided to join a couple of these groups, using hidden cameras to document how their members act when they don't know the media are watching.More >>

Next week’s solar eclipse has likely been the topic of discussion at your child’s school and your office, but the most important thing to know about the phenomenon is how to view it in the safest possible way. (August 16, 2016)